The Monster Ball Tour
The Monster Ball is the second concert tour by Lady Gaga to promote The Fame Monster, her sophomore album. The tour was officially announced on October 15, 2009, after her joint concert tour with rapper Kanye West, titled "Fame Kills", was suddenly canceled. Described by Gaga as "the first-ever 'pop electro opera'", The Monster Ball Tour began four days after the release of The Fame Monster. It has been reported by Billboard that Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour has become the biggest tour ever to have taken place by an artist on their debut album. Since 2009, over 200 shows have grossed $227.4 million and drew 2.5 million people. There is also a chance that The Monster Ball will become one of the Top 10 highest-grossing tours of all time. Troy Carter, Lady Gaga's manager has spoken to Billboard.biz about the success of the tour: :We’re humbled by the tremendous success of the Monster Ball tour. The reasonably priced tickets, coupled with a great live experience, led it to being a must-see event. Background Initially, hip-hop artist Kanye West and Lady Gaga had plans to launch a joint tour together. Fame Kills: Starring Lady Gaga and Kanye West was confirmed in September, 2009, as a concert tour that West and Gaga would co-headline. In the aftermath of the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, West made a public statement that he would take a break from the music industry following the media and public reaction to his outburst during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for winning the moonman for "Best Female Video". Nevertheless, the complete schedule for the tour was released, with the tour set to begin on November 10, 2009, in Phoenix, Arizona. Shortly afterwards, the tour was officially canceled without any explanation. Gaga addressed the situation at Billboard's annual Women in Music luncheon where she cited creative differences as the reason for the tour's cancellation. In an interview she stated, "Kanye is going to take a break, but the good news is, I am not." After ensuring the public that she would be embarking on a solo tour in lieu of the defunct tour, Gaga officially announced The Monster Ball Tour on October 15, 2009. The tour had originally been planned to debut in London in early 2010, but was rescheduled, and launched on November 27, 2009, in Montreal, QC. Rapper, Kid Cudi, and singer, Jason Derülo, were confirmed as the supporting act for the tour. While Cudi was confirmed to be supporting Gaga from the beginning of the tour, it was reported that Derülo would join the tour beginning on December 16, 2009. Cudi was kicked off of the tour after the December 14th show due to inappropriate behavior towards a fan. The official poster for the tour features Gaga in her signature Versace 676 sunglasses and what she has dubbed "The Orbit", which she first wore on the October 3, 2009 edition of Saturday Night Live. The contraption was designed by Nasir Mazhar in collaboration with Gaga's own creative production company, Haus of Gaga. Development In an interview with ''Rolling Stone, Gaga explained that she wanted to put together an expensive looking, beautiful show which would be affordable by her fans. She explained that the tour is a "pop-electro opera" because the theatrics and the story elements interwoven in the tour are played like an opera. According to her the design of the show is innovative and forward in terms of creativeness: “''I’ve been thinking about ways to play with the shape of this stage and change the way that we watch things,” she says. “So what I’ve done is I’ve designed a stage with Haus of Gaga that is essentially a frame with forced perspective, and the frame is put inside the stage.” .]]Gaga explained, the theme of the show is evolution. According to Gaga, the songs on ''The Fame Monster'' represents the personal demons that she had faced. Hence while developing the record Gaga spoke about original sin and demons inside human beings. She said, "So we talked about growth, and that led us into this kind of scientific space, and we started talking about evolution and the evolution of humanity and how we begin as one thing, and we become another." This theme of monsters and evolution is supposed to play a part in the fashion for the tour, which according to Gaga is "another level from where we were with the Fame Ball. ... It's going to be a truly artistic experience that is going to take the form of the greatest post-apocalyptic house party that you've ever been to." Although Gaga stated that she was inspired by the things she and Kanye were doing with the ''Fame Kills'' tour, she concluded, "...I made a decision based on integrity not to use any of the things that we had designed together." Later, she agreed that it was "the great lost tour". Arena Version Near the end of the U.S. leg of the tour, Lady Gaga said on twitter: "monsterball is amazing,enjoy while u can. im already redesigning it for 2010, the haus tells me there's hospitals who accept people like me" (Dec. 19, 2009) Gaga told MTV News on Saturday, hours before her Monster Ball stop in San Diego. :"The re-vamping of the Monster Ball Tour is just something feel she has to do, especially since the current version of the tour came together at the very last second. "It's kind of funny because, after Kanye and I split up for this tour, I was really unsure if I could get a show together in time for my fans," "But I didn't want to disappoint them and not tour over Christmas, and I had a new record coming out, so... what's exciting about this show is that I was able to put together something that, in truth, I never would have done if I had a longer amount of time." "So, I put together a show that is so perfectly an avant-garde-performance-art-fashion installation, put in a blender and vomited on as a pop show. It's kind of this amazing theme of evolution, but it's in a garage, and me and all my friends are kind of exploring the music." "But it's a very vacuous space. It's a box, it's a runway, and we have to transform that space to feel like eight different acts throughout the entire show. But for the next version of the Monster Ball, which is going to be in February when I begin in the U.K. with my arena tour, I'm throwing out the stage. My team thinks I'm completely psychotic. But I don't fucking care what they think." Gaga wouldn't divulge too many secrets of the new Monster Ball, but she did say that Danish pop act, Alphabeat, will serve as the opening act. And she also hinted that her fans will be in for a very big show, in just about every conceivable way. "Well, just to give you an idea, the stage is about four times the size of the one we're on now and conceptually, it's completely different." "One thing that has been lost over the past 10-15 years, in pop music, is the idea of showbiz. And this is definitely going to bring that back." Monster Ball 1.0 — Theater Version Opening Acts *Semi Precious Weapons (All dates except) *Kid Cudi (November 27th to December 14th only) *Jason Derülo (December 16th to January 26th only) Set List Act I — Birth * Jumping (Video introduction) * Dance in the Dark * Just Dance Act II — Desert * Puke (Video interlude) * LoveGame * Alejandro Act III — Forest * Raven (Video interlude) * Monster * So Happy I Could Die (except Jan. 21 - 26, 2010) * Teeth * Speechless * Virgin Call Gag (??? Dec - Jan ?) * Poker Face (Acoustic Version, New York Ode Version on the New York dates only) * Make Her Say (with Kid Cudi until Dec. 11, 2009) Act IV — Egypt * Tank Girl (Video interlude) * Fashion (Nov. 27 - Dec. 11, 2009 only) * The Fame * Money Honey * Beautiful, Dirty, Rich (Dirty Freak Remix - Nov 27-Dec 19 / Album - Dec 21-Jan 26) Act V — City * Antler (Video interlude) * Boys Boys Boys * Paper Gangsta (except Jan. 21 - 26, 2010) * Poker Face * Manifesto of Little Monsters (Video interlude, Apocalyptic Film on Nov 27 only) * Paparazzi Act VI — Monster Ball * Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say) * Bad Romance * Tattoo Film (Outro video) Synopsis / Fashion :Main article: Synopsis of the Monster Ball: Theater The original Monster Ball Tour followed the story of human evolution mixed with Monsters and her own story. The show was divided into five segments with the last one being the encore. Each segment featured songs related to the part and started with a short film. Concert Dates The Theater version of the Monster Ball Tour started on November 27, 2009 and ended on January 26 of 2010 after 35 shows (not including the Jingle Bell Ball). Cancelled & Reported Shows *Postponed: January 14 for January 26 (Edward C. Elliott Hall of Music), see the reason below. *Cancelled: January 16 (Borgata Hotel & Casino Event Center), 17 (Oakdale Theatre), 18 (Mohegan Sun Arena) see the reason below. :End of First The Monster Ball Leg :Due to exhaustion and dehydration, Lady Gaga collapsed and passed out before her show in West Lafayette, IN. Her physician advised her take a few days off to rest. As a result, concerts were cancelled. *March 7 & 8: These dates were rescheduled due to logistic problems stopping Gaga from being able to perform. All tickets bought for the original dates were valid upon entry to the rescheduled shows (May 27 & June 4). *October 22 & 23: These dates were rescheduled due to protesting in France. Due to inconvenience of transportation and fear for safety, all tickets bought for the original dates were asked to be either exchanged or reimbursed from October 20th through November 14th at point of purchase. The rescheduled dates are December 19th & December 20th. *December 19: This date was postponed due to a blizzard causing the buses unable to drive by French law and many safety issues. Monster Ball 2.0 — Arena Version Opening Acts *Semi Precious Weapons (All dates except February & March 2011) *Alphabeat (United Kingdom and Ireland) *Far East Movement (Asia dates only) *Lady Starlight (July 6th to September 19th, 2011 dates?) *Scissor Sisters (February 19th to May 6th only) Set List Act I — NYC * Jumping Film (Video introduction) * Dance in the Dark * Glitter and Grease * Just Dance * Beautiful, Dirty, Rich * Vanity (February 18—September 16, 2010 only) * The Fame * Puke Film (Video interlude) Act II — NYC Subway * LoveGame * Boys Boys Boys * Money Honey * Virgin Call Gag (North American dates only) * Telephone * Brown Eyes (February 18—June 28, 2010 only) * Stand By Me (May 15, 18, 28—June 2, 2010 only) * Speechless (February 18—December 17, 2010, February 21 & 22, 2011) * Born This Way (Acoustic, March 3—May 6, 2011 only) * Americano (May 3, 5 & 6, 2011 only) * Yoü and I (June 28, 2010—May 6, 2011) * Living on the Radio (August 30, 2010 only) * Twister Film (February 18, 2010—February 24, 2011) * So Happy I Could Die (February 18, 2010—February 24, 2011) * Antler Film (Video interlude) Act III — Central Park * Monster * Teeth * Alejandro * Manifesto of Little Monsters (Video interlude, February 18, 2010—February 28, 2011) * Poker Face * Apocalyptic Film (Video interlude) Act IV — Monster Ball * Paparazzi * Bad Romance * Born This Way (February 19—May 6, 2011) * Fan Film (Outro video, February 18, 2010—April 19, 2011) * Judas (April 19—27 1, May 3, 5 & 6, 2011 only) 1 On April 19 to 27 of 2011 the Judas single artwork was shown on the screen while the studio version was played. Synopsis / Fashion :Main article: Synopsis of the Monster Ball: Arena The new show will be like a broadway production. Gaga says, "I play all of my music but it's a story. And the story is that me and my friends are in NY and we are going to The Monster Ball, but we get lost. Our car breaks down and we are having trouble getting there & I tell everyone, 'When you come to the Monster Ball it will set you free & all of the things that you don't like about yourself won't matter anymore.' And, they start to lose faith in me. So, it's got a kind of Wizard of Oz inspiration behind it. And it's this really amazing sort of glam, drug addict opera." Concert Dates The Arena version of the Monster Ball Tour started on February 18, 2010 and ended on May 6 of 2011 after 201 shows (not including the White Tie and Tiara Ball). Cancelled & Reported Shows *Postponed: October 22 and 23 (Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy) for December 19 and 20 *Postponed: December 19 (Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy) for December 21. Broadcast and recordings :Main article: Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden Fans who met Gaga after various shows confirmed that she will be releasing a 3D movie of the tour. This is one of the reasons behind the 3-D glasses included in the Super Deluxe version of The Fame Monster. On March 4, 2010, GagaDaily announced via Twitter: “''The Monster Ball DVD is going to be released and it will be in 3D!” On March 8, 2010, a rep from Interscope Records released the following statement to ''MTV News: “there are talks about a 3D concert and DVD in the near future.” On Febuary 14, 2011, while on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Gaga announced that there will be an HBO special of the concert. The program was filmed during Gaga's February 21-22 shows at Madison Square Garden and will be titled "Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour at Madison Square Garden." HBO confirmed that the special will air on May 7, 2011 and will be directed by Laurieann Gibson.http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1658005/lady-gaga-hbo-special.jhtml Tour Book Gaga teamed up with Terry Richardson after the photoshoot for Vogue magazine. Richardson wanted to photograph Gaga during her offstage presence, document what she did when she wasn't performing. Personnel *Promoter – Live Nation Global Touring (Worldwide), AEG Live (UK) *Tour Sponsor – Virgin Mobile (US), MAC Cosmetics (Worldwide) *Show Director – Arthur Fogel *Creative Director – Matthew "Dada" Williams, Willo Perron, Laurieann Gibson *Choreographer– Laurieann Gibson, Richard Jackson *Fashion director – Nicola Formichetti *Stylist Assistant – Anna Trevelyon *Finances – TMI Productions *Legal – Ziffren Brittenham LLP *Video Director – Nick Knight (SHOWstudio) & Haus of Gaga *Video Editor – Ruth Hogben, Kevin Stenning (Rapido3D), BURSTvisual *Video Programmer – Matt Shimamoto *Lighting Company – Production Resource Group (PRG) - LV *Live Video – Nocturne Video *Lighting Design – Willie Williams *Lighting Director – Ethan Weber *Dance Captain – Vincent Asiel Hardison *Dancers – Michael Silas, Ian McKenzie, Graham Breitenstein, Montana Efaw, Sloan Taylor-Rabinor, Amanda Balen, Molly d'Amour, Mark Kanemura (2009-2010,2011), Jeremy Hudson (2009-2010), Cassidy Noblett (2010), Victor Rojas (2010-2011) *Management – Troy Carter *Management assistants – Allison Streuter, Amanda Velez *Day-to-day manger – Wendi Morris *Tour manager – Florence Tse *Hair stylist for Lady Gaga - Frederic Aspiras *Make up artist for Lady Gaga – Tara Savelo *Main Make Up Artist for Dancers – Sarah Nicole Tanno, Marissa Willinski *Personal assistant Jennifer O'Neill *Assistant – Sonja Durham ---- Theater Version *Musical Director – Jeff Bhasker *Set Design – Es Devlin *Set built – Tait Towers *The Orbit by Nasir Mazhar and Haus of GaGa Band *Guitar – Adam Smirnoff *Drums – Charles Haynes *Keyboards – Pete Kuzma *Keytar – Lady Gaga ("Just Dance") *Keyboards/Bass – Mitch Cohn (after the concert in Boston in December, 2009) ---- Arena Version *Musical Director – Joe "Flip" Wilson *Lighting/Set/Scenic Designer – Leroy Bennett *Set built – Tait Towers *Set Sculptures – Nick Knight and Kevin Stenning (Rapido3D) Band *Keyboards – Brockett Parsons *Electric Violin – Judy Mickey Kang *Drums – George "Spanky" McCurdy *Bass – Lanar “Kern” Brantley *Guitars – Ricky Tillo, Kareem Devlin Byrne *Harp – Rashida Jolley *Emma – Lady Gaga (in "The Fame") *Keytar – Lady Gaga (in "Money Honey") *Backing Vocals – Posh! The Prince (Tambourine, until 2011), Charity Davis (until July 2010), Ameera Perkins (until July 2010), Lenesha Randolph (Until May 17, 2010), Taneka Samone Duggan (since May 2010-2011), Chevonne Ianuzzi (since August 2010-2011), Jasmine Morrow (since August 2010-2011) Related Articles References Category:Concert tour